Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness.[1]Total blindness is the complete lack of form and visual light perception and is clinically recorded as NLP, an abbreviation for "no light perception."[1]Blindness is frequently used to describe severe visual impairment with residual vision. Those described as having only light perception have no more sight than the ability to tell light from dark and the general direction of a light source.

In order to determine which people may need special assistance because of their visual disabilities, various governmental jurisdictions have formulated more complex definitions referred to as legal blindness.[2] In North America and most of Europe, legal blindness is defined as visual acuity (vision) of 20/200 (6/60) or less in the better eye with best correction possible. This means that a legally blind individual would have to stand 20 feet (6.1 m) from an object to see it—with corrective lenses—with the same degree of clarity as a normally sighted person could from 200 feet (61 m). In many areas, people with average acuity who nonetheless have a visual field of less than 20 degrees (the norm being 180 degrees) are also classified as being legally blind. Approximately ten percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to relatively good acuity. Low vision is sometimes used to describe visual acuities from 20/70 to 20/200.[3]

By the 10th Revision of the WHO International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death, low vision is defined as visual acuity of less than 6/18 (20/60), but equal to or better than 3/60 (20/400), or corresponding visual field loss to less than 20 degrees, in the better eye with best possible correction. Blindness is defined as visual acuity of less than 3/60 (20/400), or corresponding visual field loss to less than 10 degrees, in the better eye with best possible correction.[4][5]

It should be noted that blind people with undamaged eyes may still register light non-visually for the purpose of circadianentrainment to the 24-hour light/dark cycle. Light signals for this purpose travel through the retinohypothalamic tract, so a damaged optic nerve beyond where the retinohypothalamic tract exits it is no hindrance.

Classification

Central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with corrective glasses or central visual acuity of more than 20/200 if there is a visual field defect in which the peripheral field is contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees in the better eye.[6]

The United States Congress included this definition as part of the Aid to the Blind program in the Social Security Act passed in 1935.[6][7] In 1972, the Aid to the Blind program and two others combined under Title XVI of the Social Security Act to form the Supplemental Security Income program[8] which currently states:

An individual shall be considered to be blind for purposes of this title if he has central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting lens. An eye which is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees shall be considered for purposes of the first sentence of this subsection as having a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less. An individual shall also be considered to be blind for purposes of this title if he is blind as defined under a State plan approved under title X or XVI as in effect for October 1972 and received aid under such plan (on the basis of blindness) for December 1973, so long as he is continuously blind as so defined.[9]

In the United States, legal blindness due to acuity loss is most often measured by a regular eye doctor with an eye chart.

Legal blindness due to visual field being less than 20 degrees is measured by a visual field test using a number IV target size. If the doctor or facility performing the test is approved by the Social Security Administration, this is the official US determination for legal blindness due to field loss in conditions like retinitis pigmentosa.

Kuwait is one of many nations that share the same criteria for legal blindness.[10]

Causes

Serious visual impairment has a variety of causes:

Advertisements

Diseases

Most visual impairment is caused by disease and malnutrition. According to WHO estimates in 2002, the most common causes of blindness around the world are:

People in developing countries are significantly more likely to experience visual impairment as a consequence of treatable or preventable conditions than are their counterparts in the developed world. While vision impairment is most common in people over age 60 across all regions, children in poorer communities are more likely to be affected by blinding diseases than are their more affluent peers.

The link between poverty and treatable visual impairment is most obvious when conducting regional comparisons of cause. Most adult visual impairment in North America and Western Europe is related to age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. While both of these conditions are subject to treatment, neither can be cured.

In developing countries, wherein people have shorter life expectancies, cataracts and water-borne parasites—both of which can be treated effectively—are most often the culprits (see river blindness, for example). Of the estimated 40 million blind people located around the world, 70–80% can have some or all of their sight restored through treatment.

In developed countries where parasitic diseases are less common and cataract surgery is more available, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy are usually the leading causes of blindness.[12]

Abnormalities and injuries

Eye injuries, most often occurring in people under 30, are the leading cause of monocular blindness (vision loss in one eye) throughout the United States. Injuries and cataracts affect the eye itself, while abnormalities such as optic nerve hypoplasia affect the nerve bundle that sends signals from the eye to the back of the brain, which can lead to decreased visual acuity.

Genetic defects

People with albinism often suffer from visual impairment to the extent that many are legally blind, though few of them actually cannot see. Leber's congenital amaurosis can cause total blindness or severe sight loss from birth or early childhood.

Poisoning

Rarely, blindness is caused by the intake of certain chemicals. A well-known example is methanol, which is only mildly toxic and minimally intoxicating, but when not competing with ethanol for metabolism, methanol breaks down into the substances formaldehyde and formic acid which in turn can cause blindness, an array of other health complications, and death.[13] Methanol is commonly found in methylated spirits, denatured ethyl alcohol, to avoid paying taxes on selling ethanol intended for human consumption. Methylated spirits are sometimes used by alcoholics as a desperate and cheap substitute for regular ethanol alcoholic beverages.

Willful actions

Blinding has been used as an act of vengeance and torture in some instances, to deprive a person of a major sense by which they can navigate or interact within the world, act fully independently, and be aware of events surrounding them. An example from the classical realm is Oedipus, who gouges out his own eyes after realizing that he fulfilled the awful prophecy spoken of him.

In 2003, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced a man to be blinded after he carried out an acid attack against his fiancee that resulted in her blinding.[14] The same sentence was given in 2009 for the man who blinded Ameneh Bahrami.

Management

A 2008 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine[15] tested the effect of using gene therapy to help restore the sight of patients with a rare form of inherited blindness, known as Leber Congenital Amaurosis or LCA. Leber Congenital Amaurosis damages the light receptors in the retina and usually begins affecting sight in early childhood, with worsening vision until complete blindness around the age of 30.

The study used a common cold virus to deliver a normal version of the gene called RPE65 directly into the eyes of affected patients. Remarkably all 3 patients aged 19, 22 and 25 responded well to the treatment and reported improved vision following the procedure. Due to the age of the patients and the degenerative nature of LCA the improvement of vision in gene therapy patients is encouraging for researchers. It is hoped that gene therapy may be even more effective in younger LCA patients who have experienced limited vision loss as well as in other blind or partially blind individuals.

Two experimental treatments for retinal problems include a cybernetic replacement and transplant of fetal retinal cells.[16]

On US coins, pennies and dimes, and nickels and quarters are similar in size. The larger denominations (dimes and quarters) have ridges along the sides (historically used to prevent the "shaving" of precious metals from the coins), which can now be used for identification.

Tools

Designers, both visually impaired and sighted, have developed a number of tools for use by blind people.

Mobility

Folded long cane.

Many people with serious visual impairments can travel independently, using a wide range of tools and techniques. Orientation and mobility specialists are professionals who are specifically trained to teach people with visual impairments how to travel safely, confidently, and independently in the home and the community. These professionals can also help blind people to practice travelling on specific routes which they may use often, such as the route from one's house to a convenience store. Becoming familiar with an environment or route can make it much easier for a blind person to navigate successfully.

Tools such as the white cane with a red tip - the international symbol of blindness - may also be used to improve mobility. A long cane is used to extend the user's range of touch sensation. It is usually swung in a low sweeping motion, across the intended path of travel, to detect obstacles. However, techniques for cane travel can vary depending on the user and/or the situation. Some visually impaired persons do not carry these kinds of canes, opting instead for the shorter, lighter identification (ID) cane. Still others require a support cane. The choice depends on the individual's vision, motivation, and other factors.

A small number of people employ guide dogs to assist in mobility. These dogs are trained to navigate around various obstacles, and to indicate when it becomes necessary to go up or down a step. However, the helpfulness of guide dogs is limited by the inability of dogs to understand complex directions. The human half of the guide dog team does the directing, based upon skills acquired through previous mobility training. In this sense, the handler might be likened to an aircraft's navigator, who must know how to get from one place to another, and the dog to the pilot, who gets them there safely.

Government actions are sometimes taken to make public places more accessible to blind people. Public transportation is freely available to the blind in many cities. Tactile paving and audible traffic signals can make it easier and safer for visually impaired pedestrians to cross streets. In addition to making rules about who can and cannot use a cane, some governments mandate the right-of-way be given to users of white canes or guide dogs.

Reading and magnification

Watch for the blind

Most visually impaired people who are not totally blind read print, either of a regular size or enlarged by magnification devices. Many also read large-print, which is easier for them to read without such devices. A variety of magnifying glasses, some handheld, and some on desktops, can make reading easier for them.

Closed-circuit televisions, equipment that enlarges and contrasts textual items, are a more high-tech alternative to traditional magnification devices. So too are modern web browsers, which can increase the size of text on some web pages through browser controls or through user-controlled style sheets.

There are also over 100 radio reading services throughout the world that provide people with vision impairments with readings from periodicals over the radio. The International Association of Audio Information Services provides links to all of these organizations.

Computers

Access technology such as screen readers and Screen magnifiers enable the blind to use mainstream computer applications. The availability of assistive technology is increasing, accompanied by concerted efforts to ensure the accessibility of information technology to all potential users, including the blind. Later versions of Microsoft Windows include an Accessibility Wizard & Magnifier for those with partial vision, and Microsoft Narrator, a simple screen reader. Linux distributions (as Live CDs) for the blind include Oralux and Adriane Knoppix, the latter developed in part by Adriane Knopper who has a visual impairment. Mac OS also comes with a built-in screen reader, called VoiceOver.

The movement towards greater web accessibility is opening a far wider number of websites to adaptive technology, making the web a more inviting place for visually impaired surfers.

Blind people may use talking equipment such as thermometers, watches, clocks, scales, calculators, and compasses. They may also enlarge or mark dials on devices such as ovens and thermostats to make them usable.

Epidemiology

The WHO estimates that in 2002 there were 161 million visually impaired people in the world (about 2.6% of the total population). Of this number 124 million (about 2%) had low vision and 37 million (about 0.6%) were blind.[18] In order of frequency the leading causes were cataract, uncorrected refractive errors (near sighted, far sighted, or an astigmatism), glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration.[19] In 1987, it was estimated that 598,000 people in the United States met the legal definition of blindness.[20] Of this number, 58% were over the age of 65.[20] In 1994-1995, 1.3 million Americans reported legal blindness.[21]

Society and culture

Metaphorical uses

The word "blind" (adjective and verb) is often used to signify a lack of knowledge of something. For example, a blind date is a date in which the people involved have not previously met; a blind experiment is one in which information is kept from either the experimenter or the participant in order to mitigate the placebo effect or observer bias. The expression "blind leading the blind" refers to incapable people leading other incapable people. Being blind to something means not understanding or being aware of it. A "blind spot" is an area where someone cannot see, e.g. where a car driver cannot see because parts of his car's bodywork are in the way.

In other animals

Statements that certain species of mammals are "born blind" refers to them being born with their eyes closed and their eyelids fused together; the eyes open later. One example is the rabbit. In humans the eyelids are fused for a while before birth, but open again before the normal birth time, but very premature babies are sometimes born with their eyes fused shut, and opening later. Other animals such as the blind mole rat are truly blind and rely on other senses.

The theme of blind animals has been a powerful one in literature. Peter Schaffer's Tony-Award winning play, Equus, tells the story of a boy who blinds six horses. Theodore Taylor's classic young adult novel, The Trouble With Tuck, is about a teenage girl, Helen, who trains her blind dog to follow and trust a seeing-eye dog. Jacob Appel's prize-winning story, "Rods and Cones," describes the disruption that a blind rabbit causes in a married couple's life. In non-fiction, a recent classic is Linda Kay Hardie's essay, "Lessons Learned from a Blind Cat," in Cat Women: Female Writers on their Feline Friends.

From LoveToKnow 1911

Medical warning!
This article is from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. Medical
science has made many leaps forward since it has been written. This
is not a site for medical advice, when you need information on a
medical condition, consult a professional instead.

BLINDNESS, the condition of being blind (a
common Teutonic word), i.e. devoid of sight (see also Vision; and EYE:
Diseases). The data furnished in various countries by
the census of 1901 showed
generally a decrease in blindness, due to the progress in medical
science, use of antiseptics, better sanitation, control of
infectious diseases, and better protection in shops and factories.
Blindness is much more common in hot countries than in temperate
and cold regions, but Finland and Iceland are exceptions to the general rule.' In
hot countries the eyes are affected by the glaring sunlight, the dust and the dryness of the air, From statistics in Italy, France and Belgium, localities on the coast seem to have
more blind persons than those at a distance from the sea.

1 There are no late returns for Iceland, but the last
available statistics gave 3400 per million. A paper written in 1903
on blindness in Egypt stated
that 1 in every 50 of the population was blind.

The following table gives the number of blind persons as
reported in the census of each country. Unless otherwise stated, it
refers to the statistics of 1900.

Country.

Total

Number.

Number

per Million

of Population.

Austria

14,582

540

Belgium

3448

487

Canada

3279

610

Denmark

1047

427

England

25,317

778

France

27,174

698

Finland 1

3229

1191

Germany

34,334

609

Hungary

19,377

io06

Ireland

4263

954

Italy

38,160

1 175

Holland (1890) '

2114

414

Norway

1879

838

Portugal .'. .. ... .

5 65 o

1040

Sweden. .. .. .. .

3413

664

Switzerland (1895). ... .

2107

722

Scotland. .. .. .

3253

727

Spain (1877)

24,608

io06

Russia. .. ... .

..

about 2000

United States (corrected census) .

85,662

1125

Causes And Prevention There are many cases of complete or
partial blindness which might have been prevented, and a knowledge
of the best methods of prevention and cure should be spread as
widely as possible. Magnus, Bremer, Steffen and Rbssler are of
opinion that 40% of the cases of blindness might have been
prevented. Hayes gives 33.35% as positively avoidable, 3 8.75%
possibly avoidable, and 46.27% as a conservative estimate. Cohn
regards blindness as certainly preventable in 33%, as probably
preventable in 43%, and as quite unpreventable in only 24%. If we
take the lowest of these figures, and assume that 400 out of every
loon blind persons might have been
saved from such a calamity, we realize the importance of
preventative measures. For the physiology and pathology of the eye generally, see Vision and EYE.

The great majority of these cases are due to infantile
purulent ophthalmia. This arises from inoculation of the eyes with
hurtful material at time of birth. If the contagious discharges are
allowed to remain, violent inflammation is set up which usually
ends in the loss of sight. It depends on the presence of a microbe,
and the effective application of a weak solution of nitrate of silver is curative, if made in a
proper manner at an early period of the case. In Germany, midwives are expressly
prohibited by law from treating any affection of the eyes or eyelids of infants,
however slight. On the appearance of the first symptoms, they are
required to represent to the parents, or others in charge, that
medical assistance is urgently needed, or, if necessary, they are
themselves to report to the local authorities and the district doctor. Neglect of these
regulations entails liability to punishment. Eleven of the United
States of America have
enacted laws requiring that, if one or both eyes of an infant should become inflamed,
swollen or reddened at any time within two weeks of its birth, it
shall be the duty of the midwife or nurse having charge of such infant to report in
writing within six hours, to the health officer or some legally
qualified physician, the fact that such inflammation, swelling or
redness exists. The penalty
for failure to comply is fine or imprisonment.

The following weighty words, from a paper prepared by Dr
Park Lewis, of Buffalo,
N.Y., for the American Medical Association, show that laws are not
sufficient to prevent evil, unless supported by strong public
sentiment: " When an enlightened, civilized and progressive nation
quietly and passively, year after year, permits a multitude of its
people unnecessarily to become blind, and more especially when
one-quarter 1 Previous returns from Finland have shown a much
larger number of blind persons, but these statistics were supplied
by the British consul
in St Petersburg from the last census.

of these are infants, the reason for such a startling
condition of affairs demands explanation. That such is the fact,
practically all reliable ophthalmologists agree.

" From a summary of carefully tabulated statistics it has
been demonstrated that at least four-tenths of all existing
blindness might have been avoided had proper preventative or
curative measures been employed, while one-quarter of this, or
one-tenth of the whole, is due to ophthalmia neonatorum, an
infectious, preventable and almost absolutely curable disease.
Perhaps this statement will take on a new meaning when it is added
that there are in the state of New York alone more than 6000, and in the
United States more than 50,000 blind people; of these 600 in the
one state, and 5000 in the country, would have been saved from
lives of darkness and unhappiness, in having lost all the joys that
come through sight, and of more or less complete dependence - for
no individual can be as self-sufficient without as with eyes - if a
simple, safe and easily applied precautionary measure had been
taken at the right time and in the right way to prevent this
affliction. The following three vital facts are not questioned, but
are universally accepted by those qualified to know: " 1. The
ophthalmia of infancy is an
infectious germ disease.

" 2. By the instillation of a silver salt in the eyes of a new-born infant the disease
is prevented from developing in all but an exceedingly small number
of the cases in which it would otherwise have appeared.

" 3. In practically all those few exceptional cases the disease
is absolutely curable, if like treatment is employed at a
sufficiently early period.

" Since these facts are no longer subjects of discussion, but
are universally accepted by all educated medical men, the natural
inquiry follows: Why, as a common-sense proposition, are not these
simple, harmless, preventive measures invariably employed, and why,
in consequence of this neglect, does a nation sit quietly and
indifferently by, making no attempt to prevent this enormous and
needless waste of human eyes ?

" The reasons are three-fold,
and lie - first, with the medical profession; second, with the lay
public; third, with the state.

" For the education of its blind children annually New York alone pays per
capita at least $350, and a yearly gross sum amounting to much more than $100,000.
If, as sometimes happens, the blind citizen is a dependent throughout a long life,
the cost of maintenance is not less than $io,000, and the mere cost
in money will be multiplied many times in that a productive factor,
by reason of blindness, has been removed from the community.

" If, therefore, as an economic proposition, it were realized
how vitally it concerns the state that not one child shall
needlessly become blind, thereby increasing the public financial burden, there is no doubt that
early and effective measures would be instituted to protect the
state from this unnecessary and extravagant expenditure of public
funds.

" Eleven states have passed legislative enactments requiring
that the midwife shall report each case to the proper health
authority, and affixing a penalty for the failure to do so. As has
been intimated, however, it is not by any means always under the
ministration of midwives that these cases occur, and, like all laws
behind which is not a strong and well-informed public sentiment,
this law is rarely enforced. A more effective method must be
devised. Every physician having to do with the parturient woman,
every obstetrician, every midwife, must be frequently and
constantly advised of the dangers and possibilities of this
disease, the necessity of prevention, and the value of early and
correct treatment. They must then have placed in their hands, ready
for instant use, a safe and efficient preparation, issued by the
health authorities as a guarantee as to its quality and
efficiency.

" An important step was taken in this direction - when a-resolution was passed by
the House of Delegates at the annual meeting of the New York State
Medical Society, requesting the various health officers of the
state to include ophthalmia neonatorum among contagious
diseases which must be reported to the local boards of health.

" The second essential, in order that the cause of infantile
ophthalmia be abolished, is that a solution of the
necessary silver salt be prepared under the authority of somebody
capable of inspiring universal confidence, and that it be
distributed by the health department of every state gratuitously to
every obstetrician, physician or midwife qualified to care for the
parturient woman. The nature of the solution, together with the
character of the descriptive card which should accompany it, should
be determined by a committee, chosen by the president of the
American Medical Association, which should have among its members
at least one representative ophthalmologist, one obstetrician and
one sanitarian. The conclusions of this committee should be
reported back to the House of Delegates, so that the preparation
and its text should carry with it, on the great authority of this
association, the assurance that the solution is entirely safe and
necessary, and that its use should invariably be part of the toilet of every new-born child.
The solution, probably silver nitrate, could be put up either by
the state itself or by some trustworthy pharmacist, at an
insignificant cost; its purity and sterility should be vouched for
by the board of health of the state. It should be enclosed in
specially prepared receptacles, each containing a special quantity,
and so arranged that it may be used drop by drop. These, properly
enclosed, accompanied by a brief lucid explanation of the danger of
the disease, the necessity of this germicide, the method of its
employment, and the right subsequent care of the eyes, should be
sent to the obstetrician on the receipt of each birth certificate.

" I have said that responsibility for the indifference that is
annually resulting in such frightful disaster lies primarily with
the state, the public and the medical profession.

" The state is already aroused to the necessity of taking
effective measures to wipe out this controllable plague. Bills have been introduced in the
legislature of Massachusetts and of New York, providing
for the appointment of commissions for the blind, one of whose
duties will be to study the causes of unnecessary blindness and to
suggest preventative measures." One of the most common diseases of
the eye is trachoma, often
called " granular lids," because the inner surface of the lid.
seems to be covered with little granulations. The
Trachoma. disease sometimes lasts for years without
causing blindness, though it gives rise to great irritation. It is
generally attended by a discharge, which is highly contagious,
producing the same disease if it gets into other eyes. Want of
cleanliness is one of the most important factors in the propagation of
trachoma, hence its great prevalence in Oriental countries.
Trachoma is very prevalent in Egypt, where those suffering from
total or partial blindness are said to amount to 10% of the
population. During Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, nearly every
soldier, out of an army of 32,000 men, was affected. During the
following twenty years the disease spread through almost all
European armies. In the Belgian army, there was one trachomatous
soldier out of every five, and up to 1834 no less than 4000
soldiers had lost both eyes and 10,000 one eye. It is a disease
which is very common in workhouse schools, orphan asylums and similar establishments.
Unlike ophthalmia of new-born children, it is difficult to cure,
and a total separation of the diseased from the healthy children
should be effected.

About one-half of those who are blinded by injuries lose the
second eye by sympathetic ophthalmia. It is a constant source
Sympa- of danger to those who retain an eye blinded by
thetic injury. Blindness from this cause can be prevented
inflamma- by the removal of the injured eye, but
unfortunately don. the
proposal often meets with opposition from the patient.

Glaucoma is a disease which almost invariably leads to total.
blindness; but in most cases it can be arrested by
Glaucoma a simple operation if the case is seen
sufficiently early.

Myopia, or " short-sight," makes itself apparent in children
between the ages of seven and nine. Neglect of a year or two may do
serious mischief.
Short-sight, when not inherited, is produced by looking intently
and con tinuously at near objects. Children should be encouraged to
describe objects at a distance, with which they are unacquainted,
and parents should choose out-door
occupations and amusements for children who show a tendency to
shortsightedness.

A report was issued in 1906, by the school board of Glasgow, as to an investigation
by Dr H. Wright Thomas,
ophthalmic surgeon, regarding the eyesight of school children,
which includes the following passage. Dr Wright Thomas states that
the teachers tested the visual acuteness of 52,493 children, and
found 18,565, or 35%, to be below what is regarded as the normal
standard. He examined the 18,565 defectives by retinoscopy, and
found that 11,209, or 21% of the whole, had ocular defects. The
proportion of these cases was highest in the poor and closely-built
districts and in old schools, and was lowest in the better-class
schools and those near the outskirts of the city. Defective vision, apart from ocular defect,
seems to be due partly to want of training of the eyes for distant
objects and partly to exhaustion of the eyes, which is easily
induced when work is carried on in bad light, or the nutrition of the children
is defective from bad feeding and unhealthy surroundings. Regarding
training of the eyes for distant objects, much might be done in the
infant department by the total abolition of sewing, which is definitely hurtful to such
young eyes, and the substitution of competitive games involving the
recognition of small objects at a distance of 20 ft. or more. An
annual testing by the teachers, followed by medical inspection of
the children found defective, would soon cause all existing defects
to be corrected, and would lead to
the detection of those which develop during school life.

History Of Institutions Although there is a record of a hospital established by St Basil at Caesarea, Cappadocia, in the 4th
century, a refuge by the hermit St Lymnee (d. c. 455) at Syr, Syria, in the 5th century, and an institution by
St Bertrand, bishop of Le Mans, in the 7th century,
the first public effort to benefit the blind was the founding of a
hospital at Paris, in 1260, by
Louis IX., for 300 blind
persons. The common legend is that he founded it as an asylum for 300 of his soldiers
who had become blinded in the crusade in Egypt, but the statutes of
the founder are preserved, and no mention is made of crusaders.
This Hospice des
QuinzeVingts, increased by subsequent additions to its funds, still
assists the adult blind of France. The pensioners are divided into
two classes - those who are inmates of the hospital (300), and
those who receive pensions in the form of out-door relief. All
appointments to inmates or pensions are vested in the minister of
the Interior, and applicants must be of French nationality, totally
blind and not less than forty years of age.

From the time of St Louis to the 18th century, there are records
of isolated cases of blind persons who were educated, and of
efforts to devise tangible apparatus to assist them.

Girolamo Cardan, the
16th-century Italian
physician, conceived the idea that the blind could be taught to
read and write by means of touch. About 1517 Francesco Lucas in Spain, and Rampazetto in Italy,
made use of large letters cut in wood for instructing the blind. In
1646 a book, on the condition of the blind, was written by an
Italian, and published in Italian and French, under the title of
L'Aveugle aglige et console. In 1670 a book was written on the
instruction of the blind by Lana Terzi, the Jesuit. In 1676 Jacques
Bernoulli, the Swiss
savant, taught a blind girl to read, but the means of her
instruction were not made known. In 1749 D. Diderot wrote his
Lettre sur les aveugles a l'usage de ceux qui voient, to
show how far the intellectual and moral nature of man is modified
by blindness. Dr S. G. Howe, who many years after translated and
printed the "Letter" in embossed type, characterizes it as
abounding with errors of fact and inference, but also with beauties
and suggestions. The heterodox speculations contained in his
"Letter on the Blind " caused Diderot to be imprisoned three months
in the Bastille. He was
released because his services were required for the forthcoming
Encyclopaedia. Rousseau visited
Diderot in prison, and is
reported to have suggested a system of embossed printing. J. Locke, G. W. Leibnitz, Molineau and others discussed the
effect of blindness on the human mind. In Germany, Weissembourg had
used signs in relief and taught Mlle Paradis.

Prior to the 18th century, blind beggars existed in such numbers
that they struggled for standing room in positions favourable for
asking alms. Their very affliction
led to their being used as spectacles for the amusement of the
populace. The degraded state of the masses of the blind in France
attracted the attention of Valentin 'Tatty. In 1771, at the annual
fair of St Ovid, in Paris, an
innkeeper had a group of blind men attired in a ridiculous manner,
decorated with peacock
tails, asses' ears, and pasteboard spectacles without glasses, in
which condition they gave a burlesqueconcert, for the profit of their employer. This
sad scene was repeated day after day, and greeted with loud laughter by the gaping
crowds. Among those who gazed at this outrage to humanity was the philanthropist
Valentin Haiiy, who left the disgraceful scene full of sorrow. "
Yes," he said to himself, " I will substitute truth for this
mocking parody. I will make
the blind to read, and they shall be enabled to execute harmonious
music." Haiiy collected all the
information he could gain respecting the blind, and began teaching
a blind boy who had gained his living by begging at a church
Shortsight. door. Encouraged by the success of his pupil,
Haiiy collected other blind persons, and in 1785 founded in Paris
the first school for the blind (the Institution Nationale des
Jeunes Aveugles), and commenced the first printing in raised
characters. In 1786, before Louis XVI. and his court at Versailles, he exhibited
the attainments of his pupils in reading, writing, arithmetic, geography and music, and in the same year
published an account of his methods, entitled Essai sur
l'education des aveugles. As the novelty wore off,
contributions almost came to an end, and the Blind School must have
ceased to exist, had it not been taken, in 1791, under the
protection of the state.

The emperor of Russia, and later the dowager empress, having learned
of Haiiy's work, invited him to visit St Petersburg for the purpose
of establishing a similar institution in the Russian capital. On his journey Haiiy was
invited by the king of Prussia to Charlottenburg. He took part in the
deliberations of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin, and as a result a school was founded
there.

Edward Rushton, a blind man, was the projector of the first
institution for the blind in England - the School for the Indigent
Blind, Liverpool. In 1790 Rushton suggested to the literary and
philosophical society of which he was a member, the establishment
of a benefit club for the indigent blind. The idea was communicated
to his friend, J. Christie, a blind musician, and the latter
thought the scheme should also include the instruction of young
blind persons. They circulated letters amongst individuals who
would be likely to give their assistance, and the Rev. Henry Dannett warmly advocated the
undertaking. It was mainly due to his co-operation and zeal that Messrs Rushton
and Christie's plan was carried out, and the Liverpool asylum was
opened in 1791. Thomas Blacklock of Edinburgh, a blind poet and
scholar, translated Haiiy's work on the Education of the
Blind. He interested Mr David Millar, a blind gentleman, the Rev. David
Johnston and others in the subject, and after Blacklock's death the
Edinburgh Asylum for the Relief of the Indigent and Industrious
Blind was established (1793) Institutions were established in the
United
Kingdom in the following order: - Many of the early
institutions were asylums, and to the present day schools for the
blind are regarded by the public as asylums rather than as
educational establishments. With nearly all these schools workshops
were connected. In 1856 Miss Gilbert, the blind daughter of the
bishop of Chichester,
established a workshop in Berners Street, London, and since that date workshops have been
started in many of the provincial towns.

After the beginning of the 19th century, institutions for the
blind were established in various parts of Europe. The institution at Vienna was founded in 1804 by Dr W. Klein, a
blind man, and he remained at its head for fifty years. That of
Berlin was established in 1806, Amsterdam, Prague and Dresden in 1808, Copenhagen in 181 r. There are more than 150
on the European continent, most of them receiving aid from the
government, and being under government supervision.

The first school for the blind in the United States was founded
in Boston, Mass., chiefly
through the efforts of Dr John D. Fisher, a young physician who
visited the French school. It was incorporated in 1829, and in
honour of T.H. Perkins (1764-1854) who gave his mansion to the institution was named the
Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum (now School) for the
Blind. Aid was granted by the state from the beginning. In 1831 Dr
Samuel G. Howe (q.v.) was
appointed director, and held that position for nearly forty-four
years, being succeeded by his son-in-law Michael Anagnos (d. 1906),
who established a kindergarten for the blind at Jamaica Plain, in connexion
with the Perkins Institution. Dr Howe was interested in many
charitable and sociological movements, but his life-work was on
behalf of the blind. One of his most notable achievements was the
education of Laura Bridgman who was deaf, dumb and
blind, and this has since led to the education of Helen
Keller and other blind deaf-mutes. The New York Institution was
incorporated in 1831, and the Pennsylvania Institution was founded at Philadelphia by the
Society of
Friends in 1833. The Ohio was
founded at Columbus in
1837, Virginia at Staunton in 1839, Kentucky at Louisville in 1842, Tennessee at Nashville in 1844, and now
every state in the Union makes provision for the education of the
blind.

Statistics In
England and Wales the total number of persons returned in 1901 as
afflicted with blindness was 25,317, being in the proportion of 778
per million living, or 1 blind person in every 1285 of the
population. The following table shows that the proportion of blind
persons to population has diminished at each successive enumeration
since 1851, in which year particulars of those afflicted in this
manner were ascertained for the first time. It will, however, be
noted that, although the decrease in the proportion of blind in the
latest intercensal period was still considerable, yet the rate of
decrease which had obtained between 1871 and 1891 was not
maintained.

Year.

Number of

Blind.

Blind per Million

of the Population.

Persons Living to

one Blind Person.

1851

18,306

1021

979

1861

19,352

964

1037

1871

21,590

951

1052

1881

22,832

879

1138

1891

23,467

809

1236

1901

25,317

778

1285

The following table, which gives the proportions of blind per
million living at the earlier age-groups, shows that in the
decennium 1891-1901, as also in recent previous intercensal
periods, there was a decrease in the proportion of blind children
in England and Wales generally; it thus lends support to the
contention, in the General Report for 1891, that the
decrease was due either to the lesser prevalence, or to the more
efficient treatment, of purulent ophthalmia and other infantile
maladies which may result in blindness.

Age-Period.

1851

1861

1871

1881

1891

1901

Under 5 years

198

196.

185

166

155

129

5-10

297

256

259

2 8 8

188

192

10-15

365

366

359

290

323

15-20

416

415

404

388

370

329

20-25

481

443

451

422

385

359

Total under 25

339

322

317

298

269

261

In 1886 a royal commission on the blind, deaf and dumb was
appointed by the government, and, after taking much valuable
evidence, issued an exhaustive and instructive report. Following on
the practical recommendations submitted by this commission, the
Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act 1893, was
passed, under which the education of the blind became for the first
time compulsory. In terms of this statute, the school authorities
were made responsible for the provision of suitable elementary
education for blind children up to sixteen years of age, and grants
of 3,3s. for elementary subjects, and of £2, 2s. for industrial
training, were contributed by the state towards the cost of
educating children in schools certified as efficient within the
meaning of the Elementary Education Act 1876. The principal aim of
the Education Act of 1893 was to supply education in some useful
profession or trade which will enable the blind to earn their livelihood and to become useful
citizens; but the weak spot was that no provision was made therein
for the completion of their education and industrial training after
the age of sixteen.

In England and Wales, in 1907, there were twenty-four resident schools
and forty-three workshops for the blind. In many of the large
towns, day classes for the education of blind children have been
established by local education authorities. There are forty-six
home teaching societies, who send teachers to visit the blind in
their homes, to teach adults who wish to learn to read, to act as
colporteurs, to lend and exchange useful books, and to act as
Scripture readers to those who are aged and infirm. All the home
teaching societies for the blind and many public libraries lend embossed
books. The public library at Oxford has nearly 400 volumes of classical works
for the use of university students.

A society was instituted in 1847 by Dr W. Moon for stereotyping and embossing the Scriptures and other books in "
Moon " type. The type has been adapted to over 400 languages and
dialects. After Dr Moon's death in 1884 the work was carried on by
his daughter, Miss Adelaide Moon, and the books are much used by
the adult blind.

In 1868 Dr T. R. Armitage, being aware of the great improvements
which had been made in the education of the blind in other
countries, founded the British and Foreign Blind Association. This
association was formed for the purpose of promoting the education
and employment of the blind, by ascertaining what had been done in
these respects in various countries, by endeavouring to supply
deficiencies where these were found to exist, and by attempting to
bring about greater harmony of action between the different
existing schools and institutions. It gave a new impetus to the
education and training of the blind in the United Kingdom. At that
time their education was in a state of chaos. The Bible, or a great part of it, had been printed in
five different systems. The founders took as an axiom that the relative merits of the various
methods of education through the sense of touch should be decided
by those and those only who have to rely on this sense. The
council, who were all totally or partially blind, spent two years
in comparing the different systems of embossed print. In 1869 and 1870 Dr Armitage corresponded
with Dr J. R. Russ in regard to the New York Point. No trouble was
spared to arrive at a right conclusion. The Braille system was
finally adopted, and the association at once became a centre for
supplying frames for writing Braille, printed books, maps, music
and other educational apparatus for the blind. All books printed by
the association are printed from stereotyped plates embossed by
blind copyists. About 3000 separate works, varying in length from I
to 12 volumes, have been copied by hand to meet the requirements of
public libraries and individuals. About 700 ladies, who give their
services, make the first Braille copy of these books, and they are
recopied by blind scribes,
chiefly women and girls, who are paid for their work.

The National Lending library, London, was founded in 1882. It
has over 550o volumes in Braille and other types. Books are
forwarded to all parts of the United Kingdom.

There are fourteen magazines published in embossed type in the
United Kingdom.

There are thirty-six pension societies - the principal are
Hetherington's, Day's, the Clothworkers', the Cordwainers', the
National Blind Relief Society, Royal Blind Pension Society and
Indigent Blind Visiting Society.

The GardnerTrust administers the income of
£300,000 left by Henry Gardner in 1879. The income is used for
instructing the blind in the profession of music, in suitable
trades, handicrafts and professions other than music, for pensions,
and free grants to institutions and individuals for special
purposes.

According to the census of 1901, Scotland had 3253 (or 727 per million) blind
persons, as against 2797 in 1891, but in a paper read at the
conference in Edinburgh, 1906, the superintendent of the Glasgow Mission to the Out-door Blind
stated that there were 758 employed or being educated in
institutions, and 3238 known as " out-door blind," making a total
of 3996. There are in Scotland ten missions, so distributed as to
cover the whole country, and regular visits are made as far north
as the Orkney and Shetland Islands. In carrying
on the work, there are twenty-four paid missionaries or teachers
and a large number of voluntary helpers. These societies originated
in a desire to teach the blind to read in their own homes, and to
provide them with the Scriptures and other religious books, but the
social, intellectual and temporal needs of the blind also receive a
large share of attention. These teachers afford the best means of
circulating embossed literature, therefore the library committee of
the Glasgow corporation has agreed to purchase books and place them
in the mission library instead of in the public library. As the
institutions provide for only a small number of the blind,
strenuous efforts are made by the committee and teachers of
missions to find some employment for the many adults who come under
their care.

In Glasgow, a ladies' auxiliary furnishes work for 150 knitters,
and takes the responsibility of disposing of their work. In
Scotland there are five schools for the young blind, and in
connexion with each is a workshop for adults. In Edinburgh the
school is at West Craigmillar, and the workshop in the city, but
both are under the same board of directors.

According to the census of 1901, there were 4253 totally blind
persons in Ireland, a
proportion of 954 per million, as against 1135 in 1891. Of these,
2430 were over 60 years of age and II over loo. These figures do
not include the partially blind, who numbered 1217. The fact that
so many aged blind persons are to be found in Ireland is doubtless
due to an ophthalmic epidemic which occurred during the Irish famine. There are twelve
institutions, a home mission and home teaching society; nine of
these institutions are asylums, that system having been largely
adopted in Ireland. The scarcity of manufacturing industries,
except in a few northern counties, entails a lack of work suited to
the blind. The Elementary Education Act (Blind and Deaf) does not
extend to Ireland.

Age-Period.

Number.

Age-Period.

Number.

Under 5 years

10

50-55

392

5-10

38

55-60

314

Io-15

64

60-65

617

15-20

73

65-70

382

20-25

95

70-75

540

25-30

116

75-80

306

30-35

146

80-85

372

35-40

146

85-90

118

4 0 -45

205

95 and upwards

95

45-50

224

The following table gives the number of blind in age-groups in
1901: - In the Dominion of Canada, South Africa, the states of the Australian
Commonwealth and
New Zealand,
provision is made by the government for the education of the young
blind, and British in some cases for training the adults
in handicrafts. Embossed literature is carried free of expense, and
on the Victorian railways
no charge is made for the guide who accompanies a blind person.

In Cape Colony,
between 1875 and 1891, there was an extraordinary increase in
blindness, but between 1891 and 1904 the rate per 10,000 has
decreased 23'78%. There is an institution at Worcester for deaf-mutes and blind, founded
in 1881. It is supported by a government grant, fees and
subscription.

In the United States the education of the blind is not regarded
as a charity, but forms part of the educational system of the
country, and is carried on at the States. public expense.
According to the Annual Report of the Commissioner of
Education for 1908, there were 40 state schools, with 434 o pupils.
The value of apparatus, grounds and buildings was $9,231,161. For
salaries and other expenditure, the aggregate was $1,460,732. The
United States government appropriates $10,000 annually for printing
embossed books, which are distributed among the different state
schools for the blind. Beside these state schools, there are
workshops for the blind subsidized by the state government or the
municipality.
Commissions composed of able men have recently been appointed in
several of the states to take charge of the affairs of the blind
from infancy to old age. The ex haustive summary of the 12th census
enables these commissions to communicate with every blind person in
their respective states. At the 12th census a change was made in
the plan for securing the returns, and the work of the enumerators
was restricted to a brief preliminary return, showing only the
name, sex, age, post office address,
and nature of the existing defects in all persons alleged to be
blind or deaf. Dr Alexander Graham Bell, of Washington, D.C., was
appointed expert special agent of the census office for the
preparation of a report on the deaf and blind. He was empowered to
conduct in his own name a correspondence relating to this branch of
the census inquiry. A circular containing eighteen questions was
addressed to every blind person given in the census, and from the
data contained in the replies the following tables (I., II., III.,
IV.) have been compiled.

Sex.

The

Blind.

The

Totally

Blind.

The

Partially

Blind.

Number-

Total

64,763

35, 6 45

29,118

Male

37,054

20,144

16,910

Female. .. .. .

2 7,7 0 9

1 5,5 01

12,208

Per cent distribution-

Total. .. ... .

100.0

100.0

100.0

Male. .. .. .

57.2

56.5

58.1

Female. .. .. .

42.8

43.5

41'9

Number per 1,000,000 population

of same sex-

Both sexes

852

469

383

Male. .. .. .

955

519

436

Female. .. .. .

745

417

328

[[Table I]].-The Blind, by Degree of Blindness and Sex.
The enumerators reported a total of 101,123 persons alleged to be
blind as defined in the instructions contained in the schedules,
but this number was greatly reduced as a result of the
correspondence directly with the individuals, 8842 reporting that the alleged
defect did not exist, and 6544 that they were blind only in one eye
but were able to see with the other, and hence did not come within
the scope of the inquiry. No replies were received in 19,884 cases
in which personal schedules were sent, although repeated inquiries
were made; consequently these cases were dropped. In 380 cases the
personal schedules returned were too incomplete for use, and in 75
cases duplication was discovered. The number of cases remaining for
statistical treatment, after making the eliminations and
corrections, was 64,763, representing 35,645 totally blind, and
29,118 partially blind. This number, however, can be considered
only as the minimum, as an unknown proportion of the blind were not
located by the enumerators, and doubtless a considerable porportion
of the 19,884 persons who failed to return the personal schedules
should be included in the total.

" Blindness, either total or partial, is so largely a defect of
the aged, and occurs with so much greater frequency as the age
advances and the population diminishes, that in any comparison of
the proportion of the blind in the general population of different
classes, such as native and foreign-born whites, or white and
coloured, the age distribution of the population of each class
should be constantly borne in mind. The differences in this respect
account for many of the differences in the gross ratios, and it is
only when ratios are compared for classes of population of
identical ages that their relative liability to blindness can be
properly inferred." Table II. shows the classification, by degree
of blindness, of the blind under twenty years of age, twenty years
of age and over, and of unknown age, with respect to colour and
nativity, with the number at the specified ages per million of
population in the same age-group. The relationship or consanguinity of
parents of the 64,763 blind was reported in 56,507 cases, in 2527
(or 4'5%) of which the parents were related as cousins.

In 57,726 cases the inquiry as to the existence of blind
relatives was answered; 10,967 (or 19%) of this number reported
that they had blind relatives.

Of the 2527 blind persons whose parents were cousins, 993 (or
39.3%) had blind relatives,-844 having blind brothers, sisters or
ancestors, and 149 having blind collateral relatives or descendants. Of the
53,980 blind whose parents were not related, 9490 (or 17.6%) had
blind relatives, 7395 having blind brothers, sisters or ancestors,
and 2095 having blind collateral relatives or descendants. It was
found that, of the 2527 blind whose parents were cousins, 632 (or
25%) were congenitally blind, of whom 350 (or 55'4%) had also blind
relatives of the classes specified; while, among the 53,9 80 whose
parents were not so related, the number of congenitally blind was
3666 (or but 6.8%), of whom only 1023 (or 27.9%) had blind
relatives.

Degree of Blindness and

Age-Period.

All Classes.

White.

Coloured.

Total.

Native.

Foreign-

Forei n

born.

Number-

The blind. .. .

64,763

56,535

45,479

10,694

8228

Under 20 years. .

8,308

7,252

6,937

231

1056

20 years and over .

56,165

49,067

38,388

10,420

7098

Age unknown.. .

290

216

154

43

74

The totally blind. .

35,645

30,359

23,636

6,511

5286

Under 20 years. .

4,123

3,543

3,377

129

580

20 years and over .

31,363

26,704

20,179

6,363

4659

Age unknown.. .

159

112

80

19

47

The partially blind

29,118

26,176

21,843

4,183

2942

Under zo years. .

4,185

3,709

3,560

102

476

20 years and over .

24,802

22,363

18,209

4,057

2439

Age unknown.. .

131

104

74

24

27

Number per 1,000,000

population of same age-

The blind. .. .

852

846

804

1,047

896

Under 20 years. .

247

250

248

215

229

20 years and over .

1,334

1,305

1,348

1,143

1574

The totally blind. .

469

454

418

637

576

Under 20 years .

123

122

121

120

126

20 years and over .

745

710

708

698

1033

The partially blind .

383

392

386

410

320

Under 20 years. .

124

128

127

95

103

20 years and over .

589

595

639

445

541

Age-Period.

BThae

The

Totally

Blind.

The

Partially

Blind.

Number-

All ages. .. ... .

6 4,7 6 3

35, 6 45

29,118

Under 10 years. .. .

2,307

1,262

1,045

10 -19 ,,. .. .

6,001

2,861

3,140

20-29 „

4,861

2,851

2,010

3 0 -39 ,,

5,024

3,077

1,947

4 0 -49 „

6,504

3,778

2,726

5 0 -59 „

8,530

4,791

3,739

60-69 „. .. .

10 ,5 0 7

5,835

4,672

7 0 -79 ,,

11,421

6,132

5,289

80-89 ,,

7,490

3,885

3,605

9 o -99 „. .. .

1,596

851

745

loo years and over .

232

163

69

Age unknown

290

159

131

Number per 1,000,000 population

of same age-

All ages. .. ... .

852

469

383

Under 10 years. .. .

128

70

58

10-19 „. .. .

384

183

201

20-29 „. .. .

351

206

145

3 0 -39 ,,

478

293

185

4 0 -49 „

845

491

354

5 0 -J9 „ .

1,655

930

725

60-69 „. .. .

3,39 6

1,886

1,510

7 o -79 „

8,136

4,368

3,768

80-89 „

22,022

11 ,4 2 3

10,599

90-99 „. .. .

5 2 ,74 6

28,125

24,621

Too years and over .

66,210

46,518

19,692

Age unknown. .. .

1,446

793

653

In 1883 the number of blind in France was estimated at 32,056,
the total population of the country being 38,000,000; 2548 of the
Tasmania.. 173 New
Zealand. 274 (1891) Natal.. 68
Cape Colony. 2802 (1904)
Canada. 3279 [[Table Ii]].-The Blind, by Degree of Blindness,
Age-Periods, Colour and Nativity. blind were under, and 29,508
above, 21 years of age; of the former 857 were receiving
instruction in 21 schools supported by the state, France.
by the city of Paris, by some of the departments, and by some
religious bodies. The four Parisian institutions are the
Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles, the EcoleBraille
(founded in 1883), the Etablissement des Sceurs Aveugles de St Paul
TABLE III.- The Blind, by Degree of Blindness and
Age-Periods. (founded in 1852), and that of the Freres
de Saint Jean de Dieu (founded in 1875).

The number of the blind in Germany was about 39,000, or 870 per
million in 1885. The number of institutions was 28, nearly all
Germany' being educational, with a total of 2139 pupils.
All these institutions, except two which are supported entirely by
private munificence, are largely assisted by the state, the
communes or the provinces. Seventeen of them derive their entire
requirements from the state, so that they are quite independent of
private charity, while the remainder are only supplemented from
public funds so far as the private contributions fall short of the
expenses.

The following extracts were made from an official communication
from Hofrath Buttner, director of Saxon S the institution
for the blind in Dresden, o to the royal commission,
concerning the care and supervision (Fiirsorge) of the
blind after their discharge from the institution: " When twenty
years of age, the blind are usually discharged from the
institution. Long experience has taught us that the care and
supervision of the blind after their discharge from the institution
are quite as important as their education and training in the
institution. It would, in our opinion, be unjust to remove them
from their sad surroundings, educate and accustom them to higher
wants, and then allow them to sink backward into their former
miserable way of life. After much deliberation it was decided to
remain in connexion with the discharged blind, to visit them in
their places of abode, to learn
their wants, to study the difficulties which they experienced in
supporting themselves independently, and, as far as possible, to
remove their grievances. Director Georgi began this work in 1843.
Director Reinhard continued it from 1867 to 1879, and the present
director has followed the same path. With the knowledge of these
difficulties the Fiirsorge (care) for discharged blind
steadily advanced, and has won the confidence of the Saxon people.
It was decided that, on the discharge of the blind person, the
director should select a trustworthy person, residing in his future
place of abode, to give him advice and practical help, to protect
him from imposition,
and to keep up communication with the director. If this guardian is unable to advise
or help, he then writes to the director, who, if necessary, comes
to the place, and this is all the easier as he travels free on all
railways in Saxony. The result
of these visits, as well as all communications from the guardian,
the letters from the blind person, and every document relating to
him, are entered in a register kept at the institution. These
guardians are respectable, benevolent, practical men, capable of
procuring custom for their wards. But there was no doubt that, in
spite of these arrangements, the discharged blind were unable to
support themselves without the assistance of capital, whether in
money or outfit. The blind man can do as good work as the man who
can see; but as a rule he does not work so quickly, and if the man
who is not blind has to use every exertion to support himself and
his family, the blind man to do the same requires some special
help, without which he will either not be able to compete, or will
have to lead a life of great privation.

" The first difficulty when a blind pupil is starting in life is
to provide himself with the necessary tools and material. These the
institution supplies to him, and continues through life to afford
him moral and material help; and by this means the greater part of
the blind are enabled to save money for sickness and old age. Those
who cannot return to their relations cannot at once meet all their
expenses, and the weak and old need special help. A part of the
money for their board and lodging is paid for those who have to be
settled in other places on account of the death or
untrustworthiness of their relatives.

" The fund for the discharged blind is administered by the
director of the institution. The number of those assisted amounts
at present to about 400, who live respectably in all parts of
Saxony, are almost self-supporting, and feel themselves free men.
For, just as a son does not feel galled by a gift from his father,
so they are not ashamed to receive assistance from their second
paternal home, the institution." The number of the blind in Holland, according to the
census of the 1st of December 1869, was 1593, or one in every 2247
of the general population. The Protestants and Roman Catholics were
Holland. about equally balanced. No cognizance was taken of the blind in the
census of 1879. There is only one blind institution, that of
Amsterdam, with 60 pupils, with a preparatory school at Benuchem
(with 20 pupils) and an asylum for adults with 52 inmates
(unmarried). Besides these, there are workshops at Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, Utrecht and Middelburg.

According to the census of 1870, there were in Denmark 1249 blind (577 males
and 672 females), or one blind for every 1428 persons. One
institution has been established by government, Denmark
i.e. the Royal Institution for the Blind, at Copenhagen; 100
children, aged to and upwards, are here educated. There is a
preparatory school for blind children under 10 years of age, and an
asylum for blind females, most of whom are former pupils of the
royal school. An association for promoting the self-dependence of
the blind assists not only former pupils of the school but every
blind man or woman willing and able to work.

Consanguinity of Parents.

Total.

Blind

Brothers,

Sisters or

Ancestors.

Collateral

Relatives

or De-

scendants De-

alone,

Blind.

No Blind

Relatives

ti es Rela-

tives by

by

Marriage

alone,

Blind.

Not

Stated.

All classes-

The blind. .

64,763

8629

2338

46,759

7037

Totally blind .

35, 6 45

4378

1215

26,349

3703

Partially blind .

29,118

4251 -

1123

20,410

3334

Parents cousins-

The blind. .

2,527

844

149

1,456

78

Totally blind .

1,291

435

78

739

39

Partially blind. .

1,236

409

71

717

39

Parents not cousins-

The blind .

53,980

7395

2095

43,368

1122

Totally blind. .

29,892

3720

1090

24,541

541

Partially blind. .

24,088

3675

1005

18,827

581

Consanguinity of parents

not stated-

The blind. .

8,256

390

94

1,935

5837

Totally blind, .

4,462

223

47

1,069

3123

Partially blind .

3,794

167

47

866

2714

The number of blind persons in Sweden, according to the census Blind, by
Consanguinity of Parents, Degree of Blindness, and Blind Relatives
of Other Classes. of December 1880, was 3723, being at the
rate of one blind person for every 1226 of the general population.
At the beginning of the year 1879, the instruction of the blind in
Sweden was com- Sweden. pletely separated from that of the
deaf and dumb, on the grounds that it hindered the intellectual
development of the blinda conclusion which experience shows to be
tolerably correct. Since TABLE IV.-The July 1888 the Royal
Institution of the Blind has obtained a new building at Tomteboda,
near Stockholm.

The law of the 8th of July 1881, concerning the instruction of
abnormal children, has imposed on the state the duty of
establishing Norway a
sufficient number of schools for the blind in Norway, as well as
for the other abnormal children. All the blind of the country, from
9 years of age until the age of 21, are compelled to be educated,
with a maximum of 8 years of instruction for each pupil.

The census of 1873 showed that in Finland there were 7959 blind
in a total population of about 2,000,000 inhabitants, the
proportion Finland. reaching the very high figure of one
for every 251 of the total population. Nevertheless there were only
160 of school age. For these there are two institutions, one at Helsingfors, where the
instruction is given in the Swedish language, and where there are
about 12 pupils, and another at Kuopio, where the instruction is given in the
Finnish language, and where the pupils number about 30.

According to information received from the I.R. Central
Commission for Statistics, the number of blind in the provinces
represented Austria. in the Austrian Reichsrath
amounted to 15,582 in the year 1884. Of these, 2345 were children
up to 15 years of age, namely 433 below 5, 779 from 5 to Io, and
1113 from Io to 15 years. The total number of institutions for
blind children in Austria amounts to 8. The blind children of
school age who are not placed in special institutions are
compulsorily taught in the public general free schools, as far as
practicable. The number of blind, in the whole dominion of the crown of St Stephen was 208,391.

The number of blind persons in Italy was 21,718, according to
the census of 1881, and those of school age were estimated to form
25%. of the whole, or about 5429 in number. But no special
Italy cognizance of the blind is taken in the government
census. There are 20 institutions, schools and workshops for the
blind. Statistics with regard to the number and condition of the
blind in the Russian empire are of a very limited character, and it
is only Russia. of late years that any attempt has been
made to draw R up any accurate returns with regard to
them. The total number of the blind throughout the empire is
generally reckoned at from 160,000 to 200,000, thus making 1600 to
2000 per million inhabitants. In Russia there are 21 institutions
for the support of the blind.

" In Egypt the blind are very numerous in comparison with other
countries, and although no exact statistics are at present
obtainable Egypt. on this point, it is computed that the
proportion is at least one totally blind person to every 50 of the
population. This is principally the result of acute ophthalmia
occurring in infancy, and it is fostered by the superstitious
observance which prevents the mothers from washing their children
from the time of birth until they are two years old, at which late
date only they are weaned. There is also a great deal of infection
carelessly and ignorantly conveyed direct from eye to eye, by means
of unwashed fingers, and this is accountable for the occurrence of
much more eye-disease than any that may be caused by the proverbial
flies. The only employment followed by the blind, both Mahommedan
and Coptic (or native Christian), and that only to a limited
extent, is recitation aloud - the former repeating portions of the
Koran at funerals, and the
latter chanting the church-ritual in their services; the blind girls and
women are without occupation. Practically no education is given to
the blind as a class, and anything which they learn has to be
acquired orally by frequent repetition. The blind were not always
so completely neglected, as the native ecclesiastical authorities
(Wakf) gave an annual grant of £2000 for the continued
maintenance of a school for the blind and the deaf and dumb in Cairo, which taught about 80
day-pupils; the latter years of the school were passed under the
ministry of education, and it was ultimately discontinued. Such a
condition of affairs appealed to Dr T. R. Armitage, and explains
his motive in trying to establish some proper means for affording
the blind in Egypt the necessary scholastic instruction and other
training. In Egypt, as in other countries, it is occasionally very
difficult, and takes some time, to start any enterprise such as
this on a satisfactory and practical footing, and it was left for
Mrs T. R. Armitage to be the means of successfully carrying out her
husband's wishes in this particular. In 1900 Mrs Armitage asked Dr
Kenneth Scott to prepare a
scheme for the education and welfare of the blind in Egypt, on
lines suggested to her. This, through the British and Foreign Blind
Association, was submitted to Queen Victoria, who graciously
commanded it to be sent, through the foreign office, to the khedive, who in mark of approbation and encouragement generously
gave a handsome donation towards its realization. The Institution
for the Blind was established at Zeitoun, Cairo, early in the year
1901, through funds provided by Mrs T. R. Armitage. The object of
the institution, which is wholly unsectarian in character, is to
educate and train the blind
mentally and physically and in industrial occupations, and at the
same time to improve their moral standard, so that eventually they
may become in great measure, or even completely, self-supporting."
(Dr Kenneth Scott.) India has a
large proportion of blind inhabitants, ranging from one in 600 in
some provinces, to one in 400 in others, with a total of more than
half a million. Until recently, little had been done in the way of
organized effort to educate them, though many of the missionaries
had helped individual cases. At Amritsar a large and well-organized work for
the blind has been carried on India. for many years. This
school has now been moved to Rajpur, and helps 70 blind women and
children. In 1903 a government school and hospital were established
at Bombay as a memorial to
Queen Victoria. Reading, writing, arithmetic, tailoring,
typewriting, carpentering, lathe-work and carpet-weaving are taught. There are small schools at
Parantij, Calcutta,
Palancottah, Calicut, Coorg, Chota-Nagpur, and at Moulmein in Burma. The memorial to Queen Victoria in Ceylon took the form of work for
the blind. J. Knowles, with the help of L. Garthwaite of the Indian
Civil Service,
devised a scheme of oriental Braille, which has been adopted by the
British and Foreign Bible Society for the production of the
Scriptures in Eastern languages.

Blindness is very prevalent in China, and to eye-diseases, neglect and dirt,
must be added leprosy and
smallpox as causes. Blind beggars may be seen on every highway, clamouring for
China. alms. As in India their pitiful condition attracted
the attention of the missionaries. W. H. Murray, a Scottish
missionary in Peking, made a
simple and ingenious adaptation of the Braille symbols to the
complicated system of Chinese printing, in which over 4000
characters are required. It was necessary to represent at least 408
sounds, and each one was given a corresponding Braille number. When
a pupil reads the number he knows instantly the sound for which it stands. A school for the blind
was established at Peking, and the version of the Scriptures
printed at Peking can be read in all the provinces where the
Northern Mandarindialect is spoken (see Miss Gordon Cumming, The
Inventor of the Numeral Type
for China). A Braille code has recently been arranged for
Mandarin, based on a system of initials and finals, by Miss Garland of the
China Inland Mission. At Foochow there is a large school for boys
and girls in connexion with the Church Missionary Society. At
Ningpo, Amoy, Canton and Fukien work for the blind is carried
on by the missionaries.

The blind in Japan have long
been trained in massage, acupuncture and music,
and until recently, with few exceptions, none but the blind engaged
in these occupations. From three to five an. years are
required to become proficient in massage, but a blind person is
then able to support himself. In Yokohama, with a population of half a million,
there are 1000 men and women engaged in massage, and all but about
100 of these are blind. In 1878 a school for the blind and
deaf-mutes was established in Kyoto, and soon after one in Tokyo. Japan has four schools for
the blind, and seven combined schools for the blind and
deaf-mutes.

As in other Eastern countries, blindness is very prevalent in Palestine. Ophthalmic
hospitals and medical attendance are now available in the larger
towns, and the missionary schools Palestine. have done
much to inculcate habits of cleanliness, therefore there is a
slight decrease in the number of the blind. The home and school for
blind girls in Jerusalem
is the outcome of a day school opened in 1896 by an American
missionary. There is also a small school at Urfa under the auspices
of the American mission in that town.

Education As more sensations are received through the eye than
through any other organ, the mind of a blind child is vacant, and
the training should begin early or the mind will degenerate.

Indirectl the loss of sight results in inaction. If no
Early Indirectly g training. one encourages a
blind child to move, he will sit quietly in a corner, and when he
leaves his seat will move timidly about. This want of activity
produces bad physical effects, and further delays mental growth.
The blind are often injured, some of them ruined for life, through
the ignorance and
mistaken kindness of their friends during early childhood. They
should be taught to walk, to go up and down stairs, to wash, dress and feed themselves.

They should be carefully taught correct postures and attitudes,
and to avoid making grimaces. They should be told the requirements
of social conventions which a seeing child learns through watching
his elders. They have no consciousness that their habits are
disagreeable, and the earlier unsightly mannerisms are corrected
the better. It is a fallacy
to suppose that the Other senses of the blind are naturally sharper
than those of the seeing. It is only when the senses of hearing and touch have been
cultivated that they partially replace sight, and such cultivation
can begin with very young children.

Blind children have a stronger claim upon the public for
education than other children, because they start at a disadvantage
in life, they carry a burden in -their infirmity, they come mostly
of poor parents, and without special instruction and training they
are almost certain to become a public charge during life.

Public authorities should adopt the most efficient plan for
preparing blind children to become active, independent men and
women, rather than consider the cheapest and easiest method of
educating them. We cannot afford to give the blind an education
that is not the best of its kind in the trade or profession they
will have to follow. There are many seeing persons with little
education who are useful citizens and successful in various
industries, but an uneducated blind person is helpless, and must
become dependent.

The surroundings of the blind do not favour the development of
activity, self-reliance and independence. Parents and friends find
it easier to attend to the wants and requirements of their blind
children than to teach them to be self-helpful in the common acts
of everyday life. A mistaken kindness leads the friends to guard
every movement and prevent physical exertion. As a rule, the
vitality of the blind is much below the average vitality of seeing
persons, and any system of education which does not recognize and
overcome this defect will be a failure. It is the lack of energy
and determination, not the want of sight, that causes so many
failures among the blind.

A practical system of education, which has for its object to
make the blind independent and self-sustaining, must be based upon
a comprehensive course of physical development. A blind man who has
received mechanical training, general education, or musical
instruction, without physical development, is like an engine provided with everything
necessary except motive power.

Schools for the blind should be provided with well-equipped
gymnasia, and the physical training should include various kinds of
mass and apparatus work. Large and suitable playgrounds are also
essential. Besides a free space where they can run and play, it
should have a supply of swings, tilts, jumping-boards, stilts, chars-a-banes, skittle-alleys, &c.
Any game that allows of sides being taken adds greatly to the
enjoyment, and is a powerful incentive to play. The pupils should
be encouraged to enter into various competitions, as walking,
running, jumping, leap-frog, sack-racing, shot-pitching, tug-of-war, &c. Cycling, rowing, swimming and roller-skating are not only beneficial
but most enjoyable.

The subjects in the school curriculum should be varied according
to the age and capacity of the pupils, but those which cultivate
the powers of observation and the perceptive faculties should have
a first place. Object lessons or nature study should have a large
share of attention. Few people realize that a blind child knows
nothing of the size, shape and appearance of common objects that
lie beyond the reach of his arm. When he has once been shown how to
learn their characteristics, he will go on acquiring a knowledge of
his surroundings unaided by a teacher. Again, a careful drill in mental arithmetic,
combining accuracy with rapidity, is essential. A good command of
English should be cultivated by frequent exercises in composition,
and by committing to memory passages of standard prose and poetry. In his secondary course, the choice of
subjects must depend upon his future career. Above all, stimulate a
love of good reading.

From the earliest years manual dexterity should be cultivated by
kindergarten work, modelling, sewing, knitting and sloyd.

Blind children who have not had the advantage of Early
this early handwork find much more difficulty when they begin a
regular course in technical training. Early manual training
cultivates the perceptive faculties, gives activity to the body,
and prepares the hands and fingers for pianoforte-playing, pianoforte-tuning and
handicrafts. Besides a good general education, the blind must have
careful and detailed training in some handicraft, or thorough
preparation for some profession. The trades and professions open to
them are few, and if they fail in one of these they cannot turn
quickly to some other line of work. Those who have charge of their
education should avail themselves of the knowledge that has been
gained in all countries, in order to decide wisely in regard to the
trade or occupation for which each pupil should be prepared. It may
be some kind of the school pianos complained to the director, and
they were forbidden to touch the works, but the two
tunieng. friends procured an old piano and continued their
efforts. Finally, the director, convinced of their skill, gave them
charge of all the school pianos, and classes were soon started for
the other pupils. When Montal left the institution he encountered
great prejudice, but his
skill in tuning became known to the professors of the Conservatoire, and
his work rapidly increased and success was assured. Montal
afterwards established a manufactory, and remained at its head for
many years. Tuning is an excellent employment for the blind, and
one in which they have certain advantages. The seeing who excel in
the business go through a long apprenticeship, and one must give the
blind even more careful preparation. They must work a number of
hours daily, under suitable tuition, for several years. After a
careful examination by an expert pianofortetuning authority, every
duly qualified tuner should be furnished with an official
certificate of proficiency, and tuners who cannot take the required
examinations ought
not to be allowed to impose upon the public.

Music in its various branches, when properly taught, is the best
and most lucrative employment for the blind. To become successful
in the profession, it is necessary for the blind to have
opportunities of instruction, practice, study, and hearing music
equal to those afforded the. seeing, with whom they will have to
compete in the open market. If the blind musician is to rise above
mediocrity, systematic musical instruction in childhood is
indispensable, and good instruction will avail little unless the
practice is under constant and judicious supervision. The musical
instruction, in its several branches of harmony,. pianoforte, organ
and vocal culture, must be addressed to the mind, not merely to the
ear. This is the only possible
method by which musical training can be made of practical use to
the blind. The blind music teacher or organist must have a
well-disciplined mind, capable of analysing and dealing with music
from an intellectual point of view. If the mental faculties have
not been developed and thoroughly disciplined, the blind musician,
however well he may play or sing, will be a failure as a teacher.
The musical instruction must be more thorough, more analytical,
more comprehensive, than corresponding instruction given to seeing
persons. In 1871 Dr Armitage published a book on the education and
employment of the blind, in which he stated that of the blind
musicians trained in the United Kingdom not more than one-half per
cent were able to support themselves, whereas of those trained in
the Paris school 30% supported themselves fully, and 30% partially,
by the profession of music.

To provide a better education and improve the musical training
of the blind, the Royal Normal College was established in 1872.1
Its object was to afford the young blind a thorough general and
musical education, to qualify them to earn a living by various
intellectual pursuits, especially as organists, pianists, teachers
and pianoforte-tuners. From the first, the founders of the college
maintained that the blind could only be made self-sustaining by
increasing their intelligence, bodily activity and dexterity, by
inculcating business habits, by arousing their self-respect, and by
creating in their minds a belief in the possibility 1 Its principal
(responsible, with Dr Armitage, the duke of Westminster and others, for its foundation)
was Sir F. J. Campbell, LL.D., F.R.G.S., F.S.A., himself a blind
man, who, born in Tennessee, U.S.A., in 1832, and educated at the
Nashville school, and afterwards in music at Leipzig and Berlin, had from 1858 to 1869 been
associated with Dr Howe at the Perkins Institution, Boston. He was
knighted in 1909.

of handicraft, pianoforte-tuning, school-teaching, or the
profession of music; the talent and ability of each child should be
carefully considered before finally deciding his future occupation.
The failure to give the blind a practical education often means
dependence through life.

Pianoforte-tuning as an employment for the blind originated in
Paris. About 1830 Claud Montal and a blind fellow-pupil attempted
to tune a piano. The seeing tuner in charge of future
self-maintenance. A kindergarten department was opened in 1881. In
July 1896 Queen's Scholarship examinations were held at the Royal
Normal College, for the first time, for blind students, and the
institution recognized by the Education Department as a training
college for blind school-teachers. From the first day a pupil
enters school until he finishes his course of training, care must
be taken to implant business habits. Blind children are allowed to
be idle and helpless at hom e; they do not learn to
appreciate the value of home; ?' pp time, and in after years
this is one of the most difficult lessons to inculcate. Having
drifted through childhood, they are content to drift through life. The important habits of
punctuality, regularity and precision should be cultivated in all
the arrangements and requirements. A great effort should be made to
lift the blind from pauperism. As soon as pupils enter a school,
all semblance of pauper origin should be removed. They must be
inspired with a desire for independence and a belief in its
possibility. In the public mind blindness has been so long and
closely associated with dependence and pauperism that schools for
the blind, even the most progressive, have been regarded hitherto
as asylums rather than educational establishments. A sad mistake in
the training of the blind is the lack of an earnest effort to improve their social
condition. The fact that their education has been left to charity
has helped to keep them in the ranks of dependents.

The question of day-classes versus boarding-schools has been
much discussed. It is claimed by some that a blind child gains more
independence if kept at home and educated in a school with the
seeing. This theory is not verified by practical experience. At
home its blindness makes the child an exception, and often it takes
little or no part in the active duties of everyday life. Again, in
a class of seeing children the blind member is treated as an
exception. The memory is cultivated at the expense of the other
faculties, and the facility with which it recites in certain
subjects causes it to make a false estimate of its attainments. The
fundamental principles in different branches are imperfectly
understood, from the failure to follow the illustrations of the
teacher. In the playgrounds, a few irrepressibles join in active
games, but most of the blind children prefer a quiet corner.

For the sake of economy, schools for deaf-mutes and the blind
are sometimes united. As the requirements of the two classes are
entirely separate and distinct, the union is undesirable, whether
for general education or industrial training. The plan was tried in
America, but has been given up in most of the states. To meet the
difficulty of proper classification with small numbers, blind boys
and girls are taught in the same classes. The acquaintances then
made lead to intimacy in later years and foster intermarriage among
the blind. Intermarriage among the blind is a calamity, both for
them and for their children; some who might have been successful
business men are to-day begging in the streets in consequence of
intermarriage.

In every school or class there will be a certain number of young
blind children who, from neglect, want of food, or other causes,
are feeble in body and defective in intellect; such children are a great burden
in any class or school, and require special treatment and
instruction. Educational authorities should unite and have one or
two schools in a healthful locality for mentally defective blind
children.

More and more, in educational work for the seeing, there is a
tendency to specialize, and thus enable each student to have the
best possible instruction in the subjects that bear most directly on his future calling. To
prepare the blind for selfmaintenance, there should be an equally
careful study of the ability of each child.

A scheme of education which has for its object to make the blind
a self-sustaining class should include: kindergarten schools for
children from 5 to 8 years of age; preparatory schools from 8 to
11; intermediate schools from 11 to 14. At 14 an intelligent
opinion can be formed in regard to the future career of the pupils.
They will fall naturally into the following categories: - (a) A
certain number will succeed better in handicraft than in any other
calling, and should be drafted into a suitable mechanical school.
(b) A few will have special gifts for general business,
and should be educated accordingly. (c) A few will have
the ability and ambition to prepare for the university, and the
special college should afford them the most thorough preparation
for the university examinations. (d) Some will have the
necessary talent, combined with the requisite character and
industry, to succeed in the musical profession; in addition to a
liberal education, these should have musical instruction, equal to
that given to the seeing, in the best schools of music.
(e) Some may achieve excellent success as
pianoforte-tuners, and in a pianoforte-tuning school strict
business habits should be cultivated, and the same attention to
work required as is demanded of seeing workmen in wellregulated
pianoforte factories.

The United Kingdom stands almost alone in allowing the education
of the blind to depend upon charity. In the United States, each
state government not only makes liberal provision for the education
and training of the blind, but most of them provide grounds,
buildings and a complete equipment in all departments. Although it
costs much more per
capita, from £40 to £60 per annum, the blind are as amply
provided with the means of education as the seeing. The government
of the United States appropriates $10,000 per annum for printing
embossed books for the blind. Most of the European countries and
the English colonies provide by taxation for the education of the blind.

Types The earliest authentic records of tangible letters for the
blind describe a plan of engraving the letters upon blocks of wood,
the invention of Francesco Lucas, a Spaniard, who dedicated it to
Philip II. of Spain in
the 16th century. In 1640 Pierre Moreau, a
writing-master in Paris, cast a movable leaden type for the use of
the blind, but being without means to carry out his plan, abandoned
it. Pins inserted in cushions were next tried, and large wooden
letters. After these came a contrivance of Du Puiseaux, a blind
man, who had metal letters cast
and set them in a small frame with a handle. Whilst these
experiments were going on in France, attempts had also been made in
Germany. R. Weissembourg (a resident of Mannheim), who lost his sight when about seven years
of age, made use of letters cut in cardboard, and afterwards
pricked maps in the same material. By this method he taught Mlle
Paradis, the talented blind musician and the friend of Valentin
Haiiy.

To Haiiy belongs the honour of being the first to emboss paper
as a means of reading for the blind; his books were embossed in
large and small italics, from movable type set by his pupils. The
following is an account of the origin of his discovery. Haiiy's
first pupil was Francois Lesueur, a blind boy
whom he found begging at the porch door of St Germain des Pres. While Lesueur
was sorting the papers on his teacher's desk, he came across a card strongly indented by
the types in the press. The blind lad showed his master he could
decipher several letters on the card. Immediately Haiiy traced with
the handle of his pen some signs on paper. The boy read them, and
the result was printing in relief, the greatest of Haiiy's
discoveries. In 1821 Lady Elizabeth Lowther brought embossed books
and types from Paris, and with the types her son, Sir Charles
Lowther, Bart., printed for his own use the Gospel of
St Matthew. The work of flatly was taken up by Mr Gall of Edinburgh, Mr Alston of Glasgow, Dr Howe of
Boston, Mr Friedlander of Philadelphia, and others. In 1827 James
Gall of Edinburgh embossed some elementary works, and published the
Gospel of St
John in 1834. His plan was to use the common English letter and
replace curves by angles. _.

In 183 2 the Edinburgh Society of Arts offered a goldmedal for
the best method of printing for the blind, and it was awarded to Dr
Edmond Fry of London, whose alphabet consisted of
ordinary capital letters without their small strokes. In 1836 the
Rev. W. Taylor of York and
John Alston in Glasgow began to print with Fry's type. Mr Alston's
appeal for a printing fund met with a hearty response, and a grant
of £400 was made by the treasury; in 1838 he completed the New
Testament, and at the end of 1840 the whole Bible was published in
embossed print. In 1833 printing for the blind was commenced in the
United States at Boston and Philadelphia. Dr S. G. Howe in Boston
used small English letters without capitals, angles being employed
instead of curves, while J. R. Friedlander in Philadelphia used
only C D ..° I J K 0 C:t_ "; FIG. 1. - Moon Alphabet.

Roman capitals. About 1838 T. M. Lucas of Bristol, a shorthand writer, and J. H. Frere of Blackheath, each
introduced an alphabet of simpler forms, and based their systems on
stenography. In 1847
Dr Moon of Brighton brought out a system which partially retains
the outline of the Roman letters. This type is easily read by the
adult blind, and is still much used by the home teaching societies.
The preceding methods are all known as line types, but the one
which is now in general use is a point type.

In the early part of the 1gth century Captain Charles Barbier,
0 - 0- ' '0- V X 0- Apparatus for
writing Braille.

a French officer, substituted embossed dots for embossed lines.
The slate for writing was also
invented by him.

Barbier arranged a table of speech sounds, consisting of six
lines with six sounds in each line. His rectangular cell contained two vertical rows of six points
each. The number of points in the left-hand row indicates in which
horizontal line, and that in the right-hand row in which vertical
line, of the printed table the speech sound is to be found.

Louis Braille, a pupil and afterwards a professor of the
Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles, Paris, studied all the
various methods in which arbitrary characters were used. Barbier's
letter, although it gave a large number of combinations, was too
long to be covered by the finger in reading, and Louis Braille reduced the
number of dots. In 1834 Braille perfected his system. Dr Armitage
considered it was the greatest advance that had ever been made in
the education of the blind.

The Braille alphabet consists of varying combinations of six
dots in an oblong, of which the vertical side contains three, and
the

horizontal two dots

. There are 63 possible combinations

of these six dots, and after the letters of the alphabet have
been supplied, the remaining signs are used for punctuation,
contractions, &c.

" For writing, a ruler is used, consisting of a metal bed either grooved or marked by groups
of little pits, each group consisting of six; over this bed is
fitted a brass guide, punched
with oblong holes whose vertical diameter is three-tenths of an inch, while the horizontal diameter
is two-tenths. The pits are arranged in two parallel lines, and the
guide is hinged on the bed in such a way that when the two are
locked together the openings in the guide correspond exactly to the
pits in the bed. The brass guide has a double row of openings,
which enables the writer to write two lines; when these are
written, he shifts his guide downwards until two little pins, which
project from the under surface at its ends, drop into corresponding
holes of a wooden board; then two more lines are written, and this
operation is repeated until the bottom of the page is reached. The paper is introduced between
the frame and the metal bed. The instrument for writing is a blunt
awl, which carries a little cap of
paper before it into the grooves or pits of the bed, thereby
producing a series of little pits in the paper on the side next the
writer. When taken out and turned over, little prominences are
felt, corresponding to the pits on the other side. The reading is
performed from left to right, consequently the writing is from
right to left; but this reversal presents no practical difficulty
as soon as the pupil had caught the idea that in reading and
writing alike he has to go forwards. " The first ten
letters, from ` a ' to ` j,' are formed in the upper and middle
grooves; the next ten, from ` k ' to ` t,' are formed by adding one
lower back dot to each letter of the first series; the third row is
formed from the first by adding two lower dots to each letter; the
fourth row, similarly, by adding one lower front dot.

" The first ten letters, when preceded by the prefix for
numbers, stand for the nine numbers and the cipher. The same signs, written in the D
E F G H; lower and middle grooves, instead of -0 - the
upperand middle, serve for punctua tion. The seven last letters of
each series NO PQR S T stand for the seven musical
notes - the first series represent - 00- 00- 00- ing quavers, the
second minims, the Y Z and for of the with third semibreves, the 00
000 00 0 - - fourth crotchets.

Rests, accidentals, and every other sign used in music can be th
wh ed er ou ow W readily and clearly expressed
without - -0 000 00 000 having recourse to -0 -0 - -0 - -0 -0 the
staff of five lines which forms the basis of ordinary musical
notation, and which, though it has been reproduced for the
blind, can only be considered as serving to give them an idea of
the method employed by the seeing, and cannot, of course, be
written. By means of this dotted system, a blind man is able to
keep memoranda or accounts, write his own music, emboss his own
books from dictation, and carry on correspondence." The Braille
system for literature and music was brought into general use in
England by Dr T. R. Armitage. Through his wise, A B C '
'0-- - 00 -0 Braille Alphabet. The black dots represent
the raised the sign in their position in relation to the group of
FIG. 2.

of points six.

untiring zeal and noble generosity, every blind man, woman and
child throughout the English-speaking world can now obtain not only
the best literature, but the best music.

In America there are two modifications of the point type, known
as New York point and American braille. In each of these the most
frequently recurring letters are represented by the least number of
dots.

The original Braille is used by the institutions for the blind
in the British
empire, European countries, Mexico, Brazil and Egypt.

Appliances For Educational Work The apparatus for writing point
alphabets has already been described. Frank H. Hall, former
superintendent of the School for the Blind, Jacksonville, Ill., U.S.A., has invented a
Braille typewriter and
stereotype maker; the latter embosses metal plates from which any
number of copies can be printed. An automatic Braille-writer has
been brought out in Germany, and William B. Wait (principal of the
Institution for the Blind in New York City) has invented a machine
for writing New York point. These machines are expensive, but A.
Wayne of Birmingham has brought FIG. 3. - Arithmetic Board, Pin and Characters. A, Shape of opening
in the board for pin; B and C, pin.

out a cheap and effective Braille-writer. H. Stainsby, secretary
of the Birmingham institution, and Wayne have invented a machine
for writing Braille shorthand.

Many boards have been constructed to enable the blind to work
arithmetical problems. The one which is most used was invented by
the Rev. W. Taylor. The board has star-shaped openings in which a square pin fits in
eight different positions. The pin has on one end a plain ridge and
on the other a notched ridge; sixteen characters can be formed with
the two ends. The board is also used for algebra, another set of type furnishing the
algebraic symbols.

Books are prepared with raised geometrical diagrams; figures can
be formed with bent wires on cushions, or on paper with a toothed
wheel attached to one end of a
pair of compasses.

Geography is studied by means of relief maps, manufactured in
wood or paper. The physical maps and globes prepared for seeing
children are used also for the blind.

Chiefly owing to the unremitting energy and liberality of Dr T.
R. Armitage, in connexion with the British and Foreign Blind
Association, all school appliances for the blind have been greatly
improved and cheapened.

Employment Reference has been made to the fact that music in its
various branches furnishes the best and most lucrative employment
for the blind. But those who have not the ability, or are too old
to be trained for music or some other profession, must depend upon
handicrafts for their support. The principal ones taught in the
various institutions are the making of baskets, brushes, mats,
sacks, ships' fenders, brooms and mattresses, upholstery,
wire-work, chair-caning, wood-chopping, &c. Females are taught
to make fancy baskets and brushes, chair-caning, knitting, netting,
weaving, sewing - hand and machine - crocheting, &c. It is
difficult to find employment for blind girls. It is hoped that
typewriting and massage will prove remunerative.

The blind, whether educated for the church, trained as teachers,
musicians, pianoforte-tuners, or for any other trade or occupation,
generally require assistance at the outset. They need help in
finding suitable employment, recommendations for establishing a
connexion, pecuniary assistance in providing outfits of books,
tools, instruments, &c., help in the selection and purchase of
the best materials at the lowest wholesale rates, in the sale of
their manufactured goods in the best markets, and if overtaken by
reverses, judicious and timely help towards a fresh start. Every
institution should keep in touch with its old pupils. The
superintendent who carefully studies the successes and failures of
his pupils when they go into the world, will more wisely direct the
work and energies of his present and future students.

Within recent years great improvements have been made in some of
the progressive workshops for the blind. At the conference in
London in 1902 Mr T. Stoddart gave the following information in
regard to the work in Glasgow: - " We are building very extensive
additions to our workshops, which will enable us to accommodate 600
blind people. We mean to employ the most up-to-date methods, and
are introducing electric power to drive the machinery and light the
workshops. We have to do with the average blind adult recently
deprived of sight after he has attained an age of from 2 5 to 40 or
even 50 years. In Glasgow we have developed an industry eminently
suitable for the employment of the blind, namely, the manufacture
of new and the remaking of old bedding. There are industries which
are purely local, where certain articles of manufacture largely
used in one district are useless, or nearly so, in another; but the
field in which this industry may be promoted is practically without
limit. It is perhaps the employment par excellence for the
blind, and among other advantages it has the following to recommend
it: employment is provided for the blind of both sexes and of all
ages; there is no accumulation nor deterioration of stock;
it yields an excellent profit, and its use is universal. We have
been pushing this industry for years, our annual turnover in this
particular department having exceeded £ 7000, and as we find it so
suited to the capabilities of all grades of blind people, it is our
intention to provide facilities for doing a turnover of three times
that amount. Instead of the thirty sewing-machines which we have at
present running by power, we hope to employ l oo blind women. At
cork-fender-making, also an
industry of the most suitable kind, we are at present employing
about thirty workers. It is also our intention to greatly develop
and extend our mat-making
department." In the United States many blind persons are engaged in
agricultural pursuits, and some are very successful in commercial
pursuits. When a man loses his sight in adult life, if he can
possibly follow the business in which he has previously been
engaged, it is the best course for him. In the present day, work in
manufactories is subdivided to such an extent that often some one
portion can be done by a blind person; but it needs the interest of
some enthusiastic believer in the capabilities of the blind to
persuade the seeing manager that blind people can be safely
employed in factories.

In England, at the time of the royal commission of 1889, upwards
of ' 8000 blind persons, above the age of 21, were in receipt of
relief from the guardians, of whom no less than 3278 were resident
in workhouses or workhouse infirmaries. The 1234567 census returns
for 1901 indicate that the number at that time was equally large.
It would certainly be more economical to establish workshops where
the able-bodied adult blind can be trained in some handicraft and
employed.

The papers read at the various conferences show that, even under
the most favourable circumstances, some are not able to earn enough
for their support; nevertheless, employment improves their
condition; there is no greater calamity than to live a life of
compulsory idleness in total darkness. The cry of the blind is not
alms but work. One of the workshops in western America has adopted
the motto, " Independence
through Industry," and it should be the aim of every civilized
country to hasten the time when blindness and pauperism shall no
longer be synonymous terms.

Biography It may be
interesting, in conclusion, to mention some of the names of
prominent blind people in history: Timoleon (c. 410-336 n.c.), a Greek
general.

Nicase of Malines (d.
1492), professor of law in the university of Cologne. The degree of doctor of divinity was
conferred on him by the university of Louvain, and the pope granted a dispensation suspending the law of the
Church, that he might be ordained as a priest.

Ludovico Scapinelli (b. 1585), professor at the universities of
Bologna, Modena and Pisa.

John Stanley (1713-1786),
Mus. Bac. Oxon., was born in London
in 1713. At seven he began to study music, and made such rapid
progress that he was appointed organist of All-Hallows, Bread Street, at the age of eleven.
He graduated as Mus. Bac. at Oxford when sixteen, and was organist
of the Temple church at the age of twenty-one. He composed a number
of cantatas, and after the death of Handel he superintended the
performance of Handel's oratorios at Covent Garden. He received the degree of
doctor of music, and was master of the king's band.

Edward Rushton (b. 1756). At six years of age he entered the
Liverpool free grammar school, and at eleven shipped for his first
voyage in a West India merchantman. On
a later voyage he was shipwrecked, and owed his life to the
selfsacrifice of a negro. Rushton and the black man swam for their
lives to a floating cask; the negro reached it first, saw Rushton
about to sink, pushed the cask to the failing lad, and struck out
for the shore, but never reached it. This incident made Rushton an
enthusiastic champion through life of the cause of the negro.
During a voyage to Dominicamalignant ophthalmia broke out among the
slave cargo, and Rushton caught
the disease by attending them in the hold when all others refused
help. This attack deprived him of sight, and cut short a promising
nautical career at the age of nineteen. He struggled bravely
against difficulties, and besides entering successfully into
various literary engagements, maintained himself and family as a
bookseller. A volume of his poems containing a memoir was published
in 1824.

Marie Therese von Paradis (b. 1759), the daughter of an imperial
councillor in Vienna. She was a godchild of the empress Marie
Therese, and as her parents possessed rank and wealth, no expense
was spared in her education. Weissem bourg, a blind man, was her
tutor, and she learned to spell with letters cut out of pasteboard,
and read words pricked upon cards with pins. She studied the piano
with Richter (of Holland) and Kozeluch. She was a highly esteemed
pianist, and Mozart wrote a concerto for her; she also
attained considerable skill on the organ, in singing and in
composition. She made a concert tour of Europe, visiting the
principal courts and everywhere achieving great success. She
remained four months in England, under the patronage of the queen.
On her return to Vienna, through Paris, she met Valentin Haiiy.
Towards the close of her life she devoted herself to teaching
singing and the pianoforte with great success.

William H. Prescott (q.v.; 1796-1859), the American historian.
Several early 19th-century musicians held situations as organ ists
in London; among them Grenville, Scott, Lockhart, Mather, Stiles
and Warne.

Louis Braille (1809-1852). In 1819 he went to the school for the
blind in Paris. He became proficient on the organ, and held a post
in one of the Paris churches. While a professor at the Institution
Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles, he perfected his system of point
writing.

Alexander Rodenbach, Belgian statesman. When a member of the
chamber of deputies, in 1836, he introduced and succeeded in
establishing by law the right of blind and deaf-mute children to an education.

Dr William Moon (1818-1894), the inventor of the type for the
blind which bears his name.

Rev. W. H. Milburn, D.D. (1823-1903), the American chaplain, known in the United
States as " The Blind Man Eloquent." He often travelled from thirty
to fifty thousand;miles a year, speaking and preaching every day. He was three times
chaplain of the House of Representatives, and in 1893 was chosen to
the chaplaincy of the senate.

Dr T. R. Armitage (b. 1824). After spending his youth on the
continent, he became a medical student, first at King's College,
and afterwards at Paris and Vienna. His career promised to be a
brilliant one, but at the age of thirty-six failing sight caused
him to abandon his profession. For the rest of his life he devoted
his time and fortune to the interests of the blind. He reorganized
the Indigent Blind Visiting Society, endowed its Samaritan fund,
founded the British and Foreign Blind Association, and, in
conjunction with the late duke of Westminster and others, founded
the Royal Normal College.

Elizabeth Gilbert (b. 1826), daughter of the bishop of
Chichester. She lost her sight at the age of three. She was
educated at home, and took her full share of household duties and
cares and pleasures. When she was twent y -seven, she began to
consider the condition of the poor blind of London. She saw some
one must befriend those who had been taught trades, some one who
could supply material, give employment or dispose of the articles
manufactured. In 1854 her scheme was started, and work was given to
six men in their own homes, but the number soon increased. In 1856
a committee was formed, a house converted into a factory, and the
Association for Promoting the General Welfare of the Blind was
founded.

Rev. George
Matheson, D.D. (b. 1842), preacher and writer of the Church of
Scotland. The degree of D.D. was conferred on him by the
university of Edinburgh in 1879, and he was appointed Baird
Lecturer in 1881, and St
Giles' Lecturer in 1882.

Henry Fawcett
(1833-1884), professor of political economy at Cambridge, and
postmaster-general.

W. H. Churchman of Pennsylvania, who was instrumental in
establishing the schools for the blind in Tennessee, Indiana and Wisconsin.

H. L. Hall, founder of the workshops and home for the blind in
Philadelphia; by his energetic management he raised the standard of
work for the adult blind throughout America.

[[File:|thumb|200px|A watch made so that people can tell the time of day by feeling it with their fingers.]]
[[File:|thumb|300px|A blind man is led by a guide dog.]]

Blindness is the inability to see anything. Some people are called blind, even though they can see a little bit. This is because they cannot see clearly, but only see fuzzy shapes or colours.

In modern countries, few young people are blind. In all the world, blindness is mostly caused by malnutrition and diseases of old people, like cataracts and trachoma. People can become blind because of diseases or accidents, but sometimes people are born blind.

Some people are color blind, which means they can see, but cannot tell certain colours apart.

When people are blind they use such things as the alphabet in braille and guide dogs to do every day life things.